Traditional Scottish Shortbread made the way I learned growing up in Scotland -just butter, sugar, and flour, baked into thick, crumbly shortbread fingers.
Scottish Shortbread Recipe Snapshot
What it is: Traditional 3-ingredient Scottish shortbread baked into thick, crumbly shortbread fingers.
Why you'll love it: Authentic Scottish shortbread recipe with only 3 ingredients. No need for fancy equipment - just a bowl and a spoon.
How to make it: Combine butter and sugar, then mix in the flour and bring it together into a dough. Press into a pan, dock, and bake.
Growing up in Scotland, shortbread was one of the first things we learned to bake at school, and I still make it regularly today. As a Scottish baker, I wanted to share my version because there's one important detail in the method that makes a big difference to how it turns out.
Most recipes treat it like cookie dough and cream the butter, but that's not how traditional shortbread is made. Instead, you use softened butter and gently bring the dough together, which keeps the texture dense, rich, and crumbly rather than light and airy.
It's a simple method, but it's what gives proper Scottish shortbread its classic melt-in-the-mouth texture. Let's make it.
Reader Review:
For the first time ever, I was able to make a perfect traditional shortbread thanks to your recipe and instructions. I had always creamed the butter and it never turned out.
Thank you! I can now remove the tartan bag of shame off my head and proudly present this shortbread. Well done Jules, thank you.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jan
Jump to:
Why Use THIS Shortbread Recipe
- A traditional shortbread recipe, the way we make it in Scotland
- Uses the softened-butter method (instead of creaming the butter)
- No special equipment needed - just a bowl and a spoon
- Step-by-step process pictures and expert tips included.
Ingredients
A real shortbread recipe only has three ingredients, and they are balanced in a careful ratio to make the signature crumbly texture.
- Salted Butter - High-quality European butter works best because of the higher fat percentage. Make sure it's completely at room temperature.
- Sugar - Classic Scottish shortbread is made with granulated sugar (caster sugar). Some recipes use powdered sugar for a softer bite, but it's not traditional.
- Flour - All-purpose flour (plain flour) gives a good structure and won't make the shortbread rise in the oven as self-raising flour would.
See the recipe card for the full recipe and measurements in both cups and grams (though I stronglly recommend weighing your ingredients for accurate ratios).
Things You'll Need
You just need a bowl and a spoon for this shortbread method. If you want to use a stand mixer, you can - but be very careful not to overwork the dough.
Why We Don't Cream The Butter
If you've baked cookies or cakes before, you've probably been taught to cream the butter and sugar together. So it might feel a bit wrong to skip that step here - but just trust me.
Creaming adds air to the dough, which gives a fluffy, cakey texture. But traditional Scottish shortbread is all about that dense, buttery crumb, so gently mixing the ingredients together is what gives it that classic melt-in-the-mouth texture.
How to Make Scottish Shortbread
This softened butter method is exactly how we were taught to make shortbread growing up in Scotland. Not only does it gives the best texture, but it's so easy to make and doesn't need a food processor or pastry cutter.
Butter and Sugar
Preheat your oven to 320°F / 160°C (140° fan-assisted) and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
Put the butter in a bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to soften it a little.
Add the sugar and mix it into the butter, just until combined.
Don't cream it.
Add Flour
Sift in the flour and mix it together until the mixture starts to look crumbly.
Then ditch the spoon and use your hands to squeeze it together into a smooth dough with no lumps of butter. Again, be careful not to overwork it; just go until it is incorporated.
Press into Pan
Put the dough into the prepared cake pan and use your hands to press it into all the corners and make it as flat and level as possible. It is a very soft dough, so it should be easy to manipulate into the pan.
Dock the shortbread by pricking holes all over the dough with a fork.
Alternatively, you can roll it out to make shortbread cookies.
Bake
Bake the shortbread for 25-35 minutes until it is just starting to turn golden brown on the outer edges, it will still be very pale on top. Baking time will vary, so it's best to keep an eye out for the golden brown edges rather than relying on a set bake time.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
Slice
For clean slices, try to cut your shortbread while it is still slightly warm. Remove from the pan and use a long, sharp knife to cut straight down into the shortbread - make the pieces as big or small as you like!
Important step: Enjoy your delicious biscuit with a cup of tea. Any Scot will tell you you can't have shortbread without tea! My personal favorite is Earl Grey tea.
Reader Review:
My second batch is in the oven, and I'll be taking them to a dinner tonight! These are so easy, and so so delicious - traditional is the very best, and I thank you.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jenn
How to Know When Shortbread is Done
Baking time can vary massively depending on your oven, bakeware, and thickness of the dough. So it's much better to learn the visual cues that it is ready.
- Shortbread stays fairly pale compared to other cookies so don't wait for it to turn golden brown or it will be overbaked and crunchy.
- Take it out of the oven when the very edges are just starting to get a bit of golden colour.
- It will still look and feel quite soft and underbaked when you take it out, but it will continue to bake as it cools.
Shortbread Tips From A Scottish Baker
These are some of the things to pay attention to to make sure your shortbread turns out perfectly:
- Use room temperature butter - If your butter is too cold it won't incorporate properly. But if it gets too warm, it will start to melt as you work it, and the shortbread dough will become greasy. The butter should be room temperature, but not so soft that it is starting to get melty. About 1-2 hours out of the fridge should be perfect.
- Don't overwork the dough - If you mix the dough too much you will develop the gluten in the flour and your shortbread might turn out dense and chewy, or the butter can start to melt and make the dough greasy. Just mix it until combined and no more. This is another reason why I recommend making this recipe by hand rather than with a mixer.
- Use visual cues for bake time - There are so many variables that affect bake time so often people might overbake or underbake their shortbread. See my section above on how to know when shortbread is baked.
- Using the high-quality ingredients - As there are so few ingredients in shortbread, the quality of the ingredients really matters, particularly the butter. The higher the fat content of the butter, the better - you will really taste the difference. I like to use Kerrygold, but any good quality butter will do.
Why do you prick holes in Scottish Shortbread?
Scottish shortbread is pricked, or 'docked' as it is called, to help release steam and stop the shortbread from getting soggy. This is typically done with the tines of a fork. Because it is so thick, this is the best way to ensure a crisp texture while still being crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth.
Depending on the temperature of your butter and how much flour the recipe contains, the holes may disappear during the baking process. That's okay, they are still doing their job! If you want to keep the holes for aesthetic purposes, you can chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking (after docking it).
Storage
Scottish Shortbread can keep for weeks if stored properly. Keep it in an airtight container or something like a cookie jar (or biscuit tin as we have here in Scotland). It will last for up to 4 weeks, but I doubt it will be around that long before it gets eaten up!
FAQ
Well, first of all, we invented it! So technically, all shortbread is Scottish shortbread! But traditional Scottish shortbread tends to be thicker than other shortbread cookies.
Also, you see a lot of adapted shortbread recipes that use things like cornstarch, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. These are all fine, but they are no longer considered a classic Scottish shortbread, which typically only has the three basic ingredients.
More Scottish Recipes
Want more of a taste of Scotland? As a Scottish lass, I've got you covered! Check out some of my favorite Scottish desserts that I enjoyed growing up:
Recipe
Scottish Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 227 g (2 sticks) Salted Butter (room temperature)
- 100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar
- 250 g (2 cups) All-purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 320°F / 160°C (140° fan-assisted) and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make sure the butter is completely at room temperature, then put it in a bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to soften it a little. Don't try to cream it, it's just to make it more pliable. You can use a stand mixer if you prefer, but be careful not to overmix.227 g (2 sticks) Salted Butter
- Add the sugar and mix it into the butter, just until well combined.100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar
- Sift in the flour and mix it together until the mixture starts to look crumbly. Then ditch the spoon and use your hands to squeeze it together into a smooth dough with no lumps of butter. Again, be careful not to overwork it, just go until it is incorporated.250 g (2 cups) All-purpose Flour
- Put the dough into the prepared cake pan and use your hands to smoosh it into all the corners and make it as flat and level as possible.
- Use a fork to prick holes all over the dough in straight lines. Don't push the fork all the way through the dough, you just want to go about half way.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until the shortbread is just starting to turn golden brown at the edges, it will still be very pale on top. Baking time will vary depending on a multitude of factors, so it's best to keep an eye out for the golden brown edges rather than relying on a set bake time. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
- For clean slices, try to cut your shortbread while it is still slightly warm. Remove from the pan and use a long, sharp knife to cut straight down into the shortbread - make the pieces as big or small as you like!
- Important step: Enjoy with a cup of tea. Any Scot will tell you you can't have shortbread without tea!
Keeley
Amazing! Tried, loved and I'm going to be cheeky next time and add chocolate drops 👀🤣
Pj
Not a great recipe. Very hard to form a dough as mixture very crumbly. 25 mins in and still cooking. Think I'll stick to a straight forward 321 recipe in future
Terry Wyatt
I can't make enough Scottish shortbread for my brothers sons and grandson i was making it for my brothers birthday and had to make it for my grandson he found out and bought the butter so he could have some he will eat all of it in one setting and doesn't get sick I don't know how thank-you
Lisa Sotter
I made this for communion bread this Sunday and it was very well received. I made (2) 8x8 pans and cut it into 3/4 inch pieces.
Jules Grasekamp
I'm so happy to hear this Lisa! Thank you for trying my shortbread recipe and for taking the time to let me me know you loved it.
Jules
Karen Robertson
This recipe is delicious, however oven temperature did not bake them enough. We have been enjoying shortbread since we were young.
Linda Smart
Love this recipe, so quick and easy to make, being scottish, I can absolutely recommend this truly authentic shortbread. Earl Grey tea is a must!
chris
fabulous! I make it vegan by just using vegan butter! I have varied the recipe by using flavors such as earl grey lavender tea ( process it in the sugar first) , candied orange bits, chocolate chips.. My vegan friends love it. I also make it with regular butter... great recipe!
Jules Grasekamp
I love the idea of making an earl grey version Chris, I'm going to have to give that a try!
So glad you loved the shortbread recipe, thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Jules
Kate
Do you sift the flour before measuring or just as you add to the butter/sugar mix?
Thanks
Brian & Kyohei
Hi from Australia!
We followed your recipe exactly (though some spots were requiring interpretation - 2 sticks of butter at 250gm is actually a total of 500gm yes? as you said later 2 cups of flour is 250gm flour but it's actually 500gm for 2 cups).
Our's turned out lovely / nice taste but quite buttery on the bottom and very dry / cake like on top, it wasn't evenly cooked and it floured on top though it wasn't cake like. I used a thermometer to check the oven temp first and we cooked it at 160 with no fan, it actually needed 35mins. As we were mixing the flour in we were sifting it at the same time (me and my son) so maybe we technically creamed the butter too much doing it this way? Any further tips would be great as this is our favourite cookie.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Brian and Kyohei,
Thank you for trying my recipe, I'm sorry there was a bit of confusion here!
I list all of my ingredients in cups and grams to give people a choice of which measurement to use. So the recipe is not saying 2 sticks of butter at 227g each, it's saying 2 sticks of butter, which is equal to 227g in total. Same with the flour. The cup measurement is 2 cups and the grams measurement is 250g. I hope that makes more sense?
It's always more accurate to measure in grams, but I provide both as a lot of my American readers don't like to use kitchen scales and I don't want anyone to be put off of trying something new! If you are following one of my recipes in future you can just ignore the cup measurements and use the gram measurements. So sorry for the confusion.
I also have a video of me making this shortbread dough if it is helpful to see how it should look at every stage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQrVqjUSPY
I hope your next batch turns out perfectly! Let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
All the best from Scotland,
Jules
Kay
Hi! These look so delicious. I really love my cookies chewy instead of crisp - American 😆 Do you think these would come out chewy if I rolled them out a bit thicker? Or maybe worked the dough more so there's more gluten?
Marie
Wonderful shortbread, I couldn't believe how fast it disappeared
it was like now you see me then now you don't, I will have to make more. Thank you.
Jules Grasekamp
So glad to hear you loved the shortbread recipe Marie! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Jules
Nancy Huck
This is exactly how my Scottish grandmother made shortbread! Same three ingredients. Now I make it! She also made griddle scones in the pan with bacon. It was so good!!
Jules Grasekamp
Love this! you can't improve on a recipe that has been going for generations! 🙂
Laurie Fitz
Made it for the first time and love it. Will be making more. A lot easier and tastier than going to the store and buying it.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe 🥰
Jules Grasekamp
So glad you enjoyed the shortbread recipe Laurie! Thank you for trying my recipe and letting me know 🙂
Jules
June
I got inspired watching the Great British Baking Show Holiday Edition where Scottish shortbread was the challenge and I learned there were only three ingredients. They didn't give the bakers the amounts or exact temps and time of the bake, so I searched online and found you. Your instructions and tips were very helpful!! Our family lived in Scotland for 3 years (my 36yo son was born in Dundee) and we fell in love with shortbread. I made goody bags for Christmas gifts this year and everyone has raved about them. I tried the pistachio cookies, too and my husband said they're the best cookies he's ever had! So, thanks so much for the amazing help. I'm going to try my hand at scones next!
Jules Grasekamp
I'm so happy to read this comment June! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and it brought back some fond memories. Also both of my daughters were born in Dundee as well!
Thank you for trying my recipe and for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Best wishes from Scotland!
Jules
Dana McArthur
How thick should it be when forming it into a pan? I don't think your recipe specified the approximate thickness? Thanks, Dana McArthur 🙂 I have never been able to reproduce my mom's awesome Scottish shortbread 😉 I recall hers was about an inch and a half thick.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Dana,
I didn't specify because people may be using all kinds of shapes and sizes of pans, but for my 7-inch pan the dough was roughly between 1 inch and 1 and a half inches thick. The important thing is to judge the bake time by visual cues, rather than just going by a set time. Once it starts to look slightly golden at the edges, it's time to take it out. Hope this helps 🙂
Jules
Grayson
Somehow it took way too long to cook. I put them in before 10 of the hour and pulled them out after 35 past the hour. The edges still not starting to brown but the top had started to brown slightly. I couldn't see that in my oven. I doubled the recipe on my first try. OMG, it tastes So Good!!!!!
Grayson
I forgot to change it to 5 stars.
Alison Lennox
Why do some recipes use corn starch or potato starch. And some sprinkle a certain sugar in top.
I’ve tried so many and just not found the one that reminds me of home.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Alison,
Some recipes add corn starch as it can make the shortbread a little softer. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's not a 'traditional' shortbread, as shortbread classically only has three ingredients. You can sprinkle sugar on top of the shortbread for some extra sweetness, it is a nice touch, it doesn't matter what kind of sugar though.
I hope you'll try my recipe and that it does the trick for you!
Best wishes from Scotland,
Jules
Nancy Huck
I’ve been baking it at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. You posted you bake at 320. Is that Fahrenheit? Maybe that would be better? It took almost 38 minutes at 300.